One things needs to be said : it is busy in around the World Trade Organization again. Discussions are generally now over substance and the destructive dynamics at play in the Trump era are much less visible – although it is not the US alone in wielding the zero-sum veto game. …
World Trade Organization
WTO Corner: US joins ‘services domestic regulation’ talks
The United States have announced they would join the ongoing Services Domestic Regulations plurilateral negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
WTO: SPS Declaration, EU case against Russian procurement practices, G90
Here a new edition of our WTO Corner blog. It’s been a while…!
WTO ministerial delivers political impetus on fish subsidies – but divisions persist
Trade ministers from more than 100 WTO member countries have recommitted to negotiating a multilateral deal to curb fisheries subsidies this year. But at a virtual ministerial meeting dedicated to the topic on Thursday (15 June), it became clear that divisions over the issue remain substantial – and it remains …
James Bacchus: The WTO simply must prove that it can do something, not just talk
James Bacchus spoke with Rob Francis about the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, trade in medicines and medical products, how the Biden Administration is progressing on trade policy – and the World Trade Organization in all this.
EU expected to launch WTO case against Russian Champagne labelling decision
It’s taken the European Commission a few days to gather its thoughts and feedback from the wine industry following Russia’s recent decision to authorise the label ‘Champagne’ only for Russian-produced sparkling wines. But a response will soon be in the offing – and a dispute invoking EU rights under TRIPS …
Consensus still elusive as new WTO fish subsidies text circulated
Hopes for a significant breakthrough on rules to control fisheries subsidies at the upcoming ministerial meeting on 15 July appear to have receded, as wide gaps between the positions of the 164 delegations on a number of key points show little sign of narrowing. A revised draft text on the …
China at heart of new dispute settlement cases
The number of new legal disputes being filed at the WTO’s dispute settlement system is rising again after a low in 2020, when only five cases were brought to Geneva for legal adjudication. Given the continued stalemate over the Appellate Body, some of these cases could be adjudicated by the …
WTO Corner: The big push to produce ‘deliverables’ for MC12
It’s been a very intense week at the WTO with plenty of discussions and negotiations taking place in critical topic areas for the institution. There is no breakthrough anywhere yet. Here is an attempt at a little state of play of where some of the most important discussions are: fisheries, …
WTO e-commerce: Nigeria brings developing country exceptions for data flows into picture
Nigeria has tabled language in ongoing WTO e-commerce agreement talks that seeks to exempt poor countries from free data flow obligations.
